Kiev - Post Report Question and Answers
How would you describe the availability and cost of groceries and household supplies relative to your home country?
Cheap!!! Quality was not great. Aside from some Asian-esq sauces, no other ethnic spices or ingredients. - May 2021
Generally speaking, groceries and household supplies are easily available, but if you want specific American goods like chocolate chip or maple syrup, these might be harder to find and/or they are more expensive than in the States. Vegetables, fruit, and berries, especially if you buy them at the local markets (not grocery stores), are excellent and cheap, especially in summer. I'd also recommend a very nice butcher's shop on "Sichevykh Striltsiv" street called "CARNIVORA", it's close to a lot of the embassy apartments and their meat is excellent. If your Russian allows, you can even call and preorder the meet you want. This is what we did for Thanksgiving; we ordered a ginormous turkey (we didn't know the size beforehand), it was very good. - Jun 2018
Great variety available at low cost. There are a few really nice supermarkets (like, live music and tanks of king crab nice) where you can get basically anything; there also are plenty of smaller supermarkets that are still pretty nice and have a pretty good selection, including imported fruits and veggies out of season. Oh, and they all have pre-made sushi! Covered markets are great from spring through fall. Even imported goods seem less expensive here; our family of four eats well for about $70/week on groceries. - May 2017
Best availability of products we wanted of any of our three posts - and everything is very affordable. Because European products aren't traveling a large distance, high-end French and Italian goods were much, much cheaper than in the U.S. If you are looking for certain items of super-processed American food products, it might be tough - but the produce was lovely, nicer supermarkets had fantastic butcher and seafood counters, and Italian pastas, German cookies, French wines, etc. abound. - Nov 2016
Groceries and pretty much everything else was insanely cheap. I have been back in the U.S. a month and basically weep every time I go to the grocery store. Selection is very good if you go to one of the more high-end supermarkets, like Le Silpo or one of the newly renovated Silpos. I didn't have as much luck with the big hypermarkets - they were huge, but the quality of selection wasn't always that great. They won't have super American packaged/processed foods the same way as in the U.S., but the selection of European products is outstanding and so so much cheaper than in the U.S. So enjoy the artisan handmade Italian pastas, the French canned foie gras, the jamon from Spain... without the Whole Foods sticker shock. - Jul 2016
It hasn't been hard to find most things. You can even find marshmallows and peanut butter (admittedly, not all the time, and for a price!). Find local things that you like! We love the "orange" cookies (about as sweet as animal crackers, but with an orange flavor; you can also get ones with a nut flavor). Things you can't find: there is no such thing as whole wheat flour or even all purpose, apparently. It's all bleached, as far as I can tell. Sometimes I buy flour from the embassy commissary or Amazon, but mostly I just use the local stuff, which runs about 60-75 cents for a 2 kg bag. You can also buy rye flour. I would bring hot sauces and Mexican spices, peanut butter, refried beans, chocolate chips, brown sugar, canned pumpkin, baking powder, vanilla extract, stuffing/dressing, etc., unless you want to pay commissary prices or ship from Amazon (can't do that for liquids). You can find flour tortillas, but they are pretty awful. We order tortillas from Amazon and refried beans through bulk shipment through the US embassy commissary. Last year, after buying a turkey at the commissary, we discovered we could have bought one at one of the local markets ("Zhytny Rynok" in Podil). They have some US brands of shampoo, toothpaste, etc. It all seems fine and not too expensive. Have not found bleach anywhere, though. Local rynoks (markets) are great for cheap and high quality produce, as well as spices, meats, fish, etc. One of our house guests bought saffron for an amazingly low price at a rynok. The least expensive hypermarket is a French chain called Auchan. There are also Megamarket, Cilpo, Furshet, and Billa. There is a Billa within walking distance of our apartment that does in a pinch, but if we have a lot to get, we go to the Auchan at Sky Mall. If you want shampoo, laundry detergent, cleaners, toothpaste, etc., you can find it at the hypermarkets like Auchan, but otherwise, you need to go to an "Apteka" like Watson's or Eva for that stuff (similar to CVS). You also see people selling produce on the street with little stands they set up, but this is seasonal (parts of summer and fall). Produce tends to be seasonal; in winter, there is not a lot of fruit available besides oranges, apples, and bananas, for example. You sometimes have better luck at the rynok than in the grocery stores, though. As a side note, electronics cost more like 1.5-2 times what they do in the US. You can buy something like a stand mixer for a little more than the price you'd pay in the States, but the quality is lower. - Nov 2015
Lots of grocery stores with everything you could need. Produce is pretty much whatever is in season. Coming from California I miss year round melons and berries, but when they are in season here, they are gorgeous and more flavorful than what you would get at Trader Joe's. Of course there aren't the prepared foods that we have in the U.S. You will be washing lettuce and cutting up your own fruit and veggies. Some people hire cooks. The beef isn't so great, but the pork, turkey and chicken are. Lots of dairy (however no Greek yogurt or many non-fat options). Even good tofu. Prices are maybe half what are in the U.S. We spend about US$100 a week at the grocery store for a family of three, and that's with meat and wine. Manicure, pedicure US$20. One hour massage: US$20 - Jun 2015
Your best source of produce is the local open-air market. If you can, have a friend introduce you to a favorite seller and visit him/her loyally if s/he provides you good produce at a good price. I also ordered basic cleaning supplies, boxed milk and such for home delivery from Furshet (well worth it especially in the winter). The French Institute near the French School has a small CSA that is a good source of "organic" produce, eggs, and some meat. - Apr 2014
Groceries are average priced. If you buy vegetables and fruits in season you will be paying the equivalent of 25 cents / lb for (potatoes, carrots, cabbage, beets in the winter), (watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash in the summer. Most things are also very accessible. If you do not want to go to grocery stores, you can usually negotiate in the Rynoks (outdoor markets). The produce is usually beautiful and fresh. - Apr 2013
It is expensive and that is the reason for the COLA. - Apr 2013
There are large grocery stores, such as METRO (like a German COSTCO). Almost everything is available. Locally produced products are cheapest. Our favorites are the beer and ham (plentiful selections of both). Vodka is cheaper than bottled water. - Feb 2013
Between grocery stores and the produce markets, you can get basically anything you want in Kyiv. I found the prices extremely reasonable, I spent way less on groceries in Kyiv than I did in DC. - Jul 2012
Fruits and veggies are cheap if you go to the outdoor markets. Other groceries are about the same price as in the states. Some things are more, some less. - Aug 2009
About the same as in the U.S. except for meat which is ridiculously expensive. - Apr 2008
Between the Commissary and local grocery chains, you can get almost anything you want and it's getting better all the time (we're foodies and this is important to us). Food is cheaper than in the States, especially for produce. Meat can be iffy, local chicken and pork are fine, beef less so (you can order from the Commissary though). As always, if you use local brands, your grocery bill will be significantly less than in the States. - Apr 2008
Most everything is available here, but you won't find American brands outside of the commissary. The cost is roughly the same as the States but rising all the time. - Feb 2008
